Thill-coupling



(No Model.)

J. O. DALE.

THILL GOUPLING.

No. 595,048. Patented Dec. '7, 1897,

W2? sses 1720672207" l w. flwaa UNTTEn STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

JOHN CALVIN DALE, OF MANHATTAN, KANSAS.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,048, dated December '7, 1897.

Application filed April 12,1897. Serial No. 631,788. (No model.)

To rtZZ whom 7125 7711117] concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN CALVIN DALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manhattan, in the county of Riley and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill-Couplings; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in thill-couplings, and more particularly to devices for connecting thill-irons with the clips on an axle; and its novelty and many advantages will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional View, with parts in elevation, illustrating the manner in which my improved device is placed to connect a thill-iron with the lug-eyes of a clip. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the device in its operative position. Fig. 3 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of my improved device.

In the said drawings similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the several views, referring to which- A indicates an ordinary vehicle-axle. B indicates a clip thereon having the usual lugeyes C.

D indicates the thill-iron having the usual eye 0, designed to be interposed between the lug-eyes O of the clip, and F indicates my improved device for pivotally connecting the thill-iron and clip in such a manner as to prevent the objectionable rattling of the coupling so often experienced. This device F is better shown in Fig. 4, and it comprises the pivot-bolt a, which extends through the lugeyes 0 of clip B and the eye E of the thilliron D and serves to pivotally connect the latter with the former, so as to permit of the thill being raised and lowered as desired. The said bolt a has the beveled portion 1) at one end and the head 0 at its opposite end, and it is provided in the outer end of said head with abifurcation d, as shown. In this bifurcation cl is pivotally connected, by a transverse pintle e or other suitable means, athumb-latch f, which is of an angular form,

as shown, and preferably has its lower arm g increased in width, as shown, so as to form a broad bearing for the thumb of the operator. The said thumb-latch f is provided adjacent to its connected end with an apertured lugh, and to this lug 7L is pivotally connected the bifurcated arm 1' at one end of the lockingbar j, which is of about the proportional length illustrated and is provided at its opposite end with the inwardly-curved arm 7t, which has its end beveled, as shown, for a purpose presently described.

In using my improved device the lockingbar j and the other parts are held in the position shown, while the bolt a is passed through the lug-eyes (l of the clip and the eye E of the thill-iron, as shown. The free end of the bar j is then permitted to fall, so that the end of arm is will bear on the beveled portion 1) of bolt matter which the thumb-latchfis pressed into the position shown in Fig. 2. Vhen this is done, the beveled end of the arm 7t will be drawn between the beveled portion Z1 of bolt a and the lug'eye C opposite to that against which the head 0 bears, and in consequence the said barj will be held against endwise movement and the bolt a will be tightly secured in position, so as to effectually prevent its casual displacement and also obviate the objectionable rattling noise so often experienced with thill-couplings. \Vhen it is de sired to disconnect the thill-iron from the clip, it is simply necessary to swing the thumb-latch outwardly and upwardly, when the barj may be disengaged from lug-eye O and the bolt may be withdrawn and the thill removed in the usual way.

It will be seen from the foregoing that my improved device is very cheap and simple, and it will also be seen that a connection and disconnection of the thill may be effected much more quickly with the same than with the ordinary bolt and nut, and that when a connection of the thill with the clip is effected the liability of it being casually disconnected is reduced to a minimum, which is an important desideratum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is-- 1. In a thill-coupling, the combination of a clip having lug-eyes, a thill-iron having an eye interposed between the lug-eyes of the clip, and a connecting device comprising a bolt extending through the eyes of the clip and thill-iron and havinga head at one end, an angular thumb-latch pivotally connected with the head of the said bolt, and alockingbar extending parallel to the bolt and having an arm at one end pivotally connected with the thumb-latch and an arm at its opposite end adapted to engage one of the lug-eyes of the clip, substantially as specified.

2. In a thill-coupling, the combination of a clip having lug-eyes, a thill-iron having an eye interposed between the lug-eyes of the clip, and a connecting device comprising a bolt extending through the eyes of the clip and thill-iron and having a bifurcated head at one end and a beveled portion b, at its opposite end, an angular thumb-latch pivotally connected with the head of the bolt and arranged in the bifurcation thereof, and the locking-bar extending parallel to the bolt and having an arm at one end pivotal] y connected with the thumb-latch and an arm at its opposite end provided with a beveled end and adapted to be interposed between the beveled portion of the bolt and one of the lug-eyes of the clip, substantially as specified.

3. As an improved article of manufacture, a connecting and antirattling device for thillcouplings, comprising a bolt having a head at one end, an angular thumb-latch pivotally connected with the head of said bolt, and a locking-bar extending parallel to the bolt and having an arm at one end pivotally connected with the thumb-latch and an arm at its opposite end adapted to engage one of the lugeyes of the clip, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN CALVIN DALE.

Witnesses:

CHAS. REHFELD, H. O. NIoHoLs. 

